[sklug] LWB-2003 in Slovakia

[Jan Matis]

> The next one is scheduled for late august, 2002 in Ireland.
So first plan for LWB-2003 is also for late august ? 

> Why Banska Bystrica? As I mentioned above, LBW is usually organized in
> a small town that is not too far away from hiking trails, has a fair amount of
> historic sites, pubs and restaurants to explore and offers accomodation at
> reasonable prices. Accessibility is also an issue, though this year's LBW in
> Ireland is not a very good example from that point of view. Banska Bystrica
> seems to be easily accessible from Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna
> international airports, it lies in the middle of the country, which in turn
> lies in the middle of the region (Polish, Czech and Hungarian hackers can
> access it equally easily). During my scouting, I found that it's an ideal
> place from a cultural compatibility point of view as well: Czechs and the
> Polish can communicate with Slovaks in their native language (the Czechs
> easily, the Poles not so easily), while there are enough people speaking
> either German, Hungarian or Russian to some extent, which pretty much covers
> the needs.
I don't wish to flame against Banska Bystrica but ... Have you ever seen 
High Tatras (http://www.tatry.sk) ? or Slovensky Raj 
(http://www.slovenskyraj.sk/en.html) ? 
There is a relatively small town named 
Poprad (http://www.poprad.sk/En/Mapa/index.html). In my humble opinion 
that town could be reasonably better choice than Banska Bystrica. (Just 
have a short look on that webpages and You will understand) 

> And now for the requirements. In order to organize an LBW, the most
> important thing is a great hall, in which we can set up a permanent LAN
> party with about 50 computers and (a possibly slow) access to the Internet
> (eg. ISDN). This is where your help is most needed. The hall should be
> secure, so that people can leave there their equipment while going out. It
> should be lockable for the night.
this could be a biggest problem but after choosing town we can start to 
talk with local authority. I hope there will be no problem with internet 
access.

> A related field, where local organizers can help a lot is finding other
> sponsors for the event that can help with money, beer, T-shirts, whatnot.
> The more sponsors we have, the less money we will have to raise on our own.
> Funds are usually raised in the form of volunteer donations -- participants
> of LBW are not required to pay, but they are strongly encouraged to
> contribute. The excess funds are automatically transfered to the next LBW.
In truth Slovakia is not reach country. I don't think there is a big 
chance to get some sponsors (Anyway I'll ask.)

> Furthermore, I would like to ask you to compile a list of accomodation and
> camping prices (and sites), parking fees, as well as a list (with price
> estimates) of the local restaurants and pubs. For both, a short review of
> the services they offer would be helpful.
I'll send some e-mails to get info about prices of accomodation.
Somebody else who has infos could write it here. 
For example beer (slovak beer :)) costs less than 0.5 Euro
Complete Lunch You can get for about 3-5 Euros.

> Finally, I'd like to ask you to clarify the customs regulations of Slovakia,
> as some western participants are voicing concerns about being able to bring
> in and take out their equipment without any harrassment on the part of the
> customs officials. Please, write a short summary on related laws and
> regulations.
The best way is to get paper on border (Customs office) for ewerything 
which is more expensive than 100 Euro. 


Jan Matis

-- 
I would usually like to think I'm not completely stupid. 
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